Astar collaborates with Polygon AggLayer to launch Astar zkEVM mainnet.

Polkadot's ecosystem public chain Astar announced the official launch of Astar zkEVM, a Layer2 mainnet based on Polygon CDK, yesterday. It is the first Layer2 network fully integrated with Polygon AggLayer, aiming to transition from the Polkadot ecosystem to the Ethereum ecosystem.

Astar zkEVM Mainnet Launched

Introducing zk-rollup on Ethereum

Astar Network is a Japanese Layer1 network that supports EVM and WebAssembly Wasm development environments, built on the Polkadot ecosystem.

Last year, the Astar team began planning and constructing an Ethereum Rollup. Using the Polygon CDK Chain Development Kit tools to create a new Layer2 network, the testnet went live in October last year, known as Astar zkEVM, to participate in the growth of the Ethereum ecosystem.

Integration of Agglayer developed by Polygon

The core of the AggLayer project lies in utilizing zero-knowledge proof technology to integrate the fragmented liquidity of modularized blockchains, enhancing cross-network composability while maintaining greater security compared to third-party cross-chain bridges.

Astar zkEVM is the first Layer2 fully integrated with Polygon's AggLayer, expected to initially connect the composability of Polygon, Ethereum, and Astar Network, and in the future integrate more networks adopting the Polygon CDK standard.

Rebuilding an Ecosystem Strategy through a New Pipeline

Exploring New Paths Outside the Polkadot Ecosystem

Astar Network originally focused on the Polkadot ecosystem; however, due to the lack of a flexible slot auction mechanism and the sluggish market conditions and competition in recent years, the development of the Polkadot network ecosystem has been relatively slow. Although the Web3 Foundation has started a series of reforms to promote Polkadot 2.0, short-term growth remains limited.

Polkadot 2.0 cancels parallel chain slot auctions to improve ecosystem operational efficiency.

Many projects are seeking alternative paths. Apart from Astar, another example that has garnered market attention is Manta Network. Also from the Polkadot ecosystem, Manta Network has been moving towards the Ethereum ecosystem since last year and has achieved rapid growth recently through unique Rollups designs and marketing strategies.

Joining the Ethereum Rollups Ecosystem for Growth

Compared to Polkadot, the Ethereum ecosystem has vigorously developed its ecosystem in recent years using Rollups growth strategies, aligning with market trends in both on-chain and Layer2 developments. Many on-chain projects, exchanges, and institutions are constructing their own Layer2 using Rollups Stacks in hopes of benefiting from market opportunities.

Constructing an Ethereum Layer2 and integrating Agglayer, Astar undoubtedly continues its ecosystem integration strategy, mirroring its previous development model in the Polkadot ecosystem, just on a different stage.

However, the actual implementation and market acceptance still require further observation.